


Now and Forever.

by bledstars



Category: Naruto
Genre: Childhood Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, NARUSAKU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CANON AND I WILL NEVER NOT BE UPSET OVER THIS, Sweet, This entire fic is just me saying : everyone should love Sakura, sakura deserves the world, your faves would be dead without her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25256608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bledstars/pseuds/bledstars
Summary: Five Reasons as to why Naruto fell in love with Sakura.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 17
Kudos: 90





	Now and Forever.

She was like a pretty flower, blossoming beautifully and always catching his eye. 

It may be a little vain, but he fell in love with her beauty first. But give him a break, he was a kid when he first developed his crush on her. Of course he was attracted to her beauty first, don’t all kids like pretty things? But...that wouldn’t explain his growing feelings for her. Even as time passed by, her beauty did not fade rather it increased ten fold as he got to know her. 

He could still remember the first time he met her. How his eyes widened as he saw her in the academy, like a pink flower blooming before him. He was speechless as he stared at her, unable to piece together the proper words to describe the girl before him. She looked like a princess. Her green eyes sparkling with joy as she smiled at her friends. He knew at that moment that he had fallen hard for this pink haired girl. The butterflies that fluttered in his stomach when she finally looked at him and gave him a bright cheerful smile. There was nothing prettier than her smiling face. 

Even her name was pretty and it suited her so well. _Sakura._ He could recall how he repeated it in his head over and over again after they said goodbye. How he said it out loud when he was alone and how it filled him with a warmth in his chest. _A pretty name for a pretty girl_. He thought as he smiled and whispered into the empty room. Even just saying her name made his home feel a little less bare. He discovered new colors when he met her, his world was no longer as dull as it once. In his dreams, he had a pink princess that smiled at him and took his hand to play in the flower meadows that weren’t half as pretty as she was. 

In his eyes, she was the epitome of spring and life. Like a field full of new flowers, she brimmed with life and even when she was covered in dirt or blood, she still shined. She was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen in his entire life, and even when they were just kids, he knew that she’d always be pretty. From her soft pink hair that moved in the breeze to her sparkling green eyes that shined in the sunlight, he thought they were the prettiest colors in the universe. 

He still believed that. 

There was no way to perfectly capture the hue and shade of those two colors. They soon became his favorite thing to spot in the village, on the battlefield, or from his peripheral vision. When she was beside him and he was rewarded with a small glance of her pink hair, he knew that he had a teammate that he could trust with his life. Her beauty came with the reassurance that she was there. That she would fight beside him, that with her, he felt unbeatable. 

So, maybe it was always more than just her pretty eyes or beautiful hair. But he won’t deny the fact that he loved how beautiful she is and how he could never tire of looking at her. Eyes always searching for her, always finding comfort when she turned to look at him and his blue eyes locked with her green. Oh, how quickly his heart would beat. He was always falling for her charm, her beauty, her grace. He could never grow tired of looking at her. Rather even an entire day spent with her wasn’t enough cause he would greedily want to see her in his dreams. 

How many times did he sneak a glance at her, whether to make sure she was okay or to make sure she wasn't too far inside her own head. How many times did he let his gaze fall on her when it was his turn to take watch and saw how peaceful and ethereal she looked as she slept under the trees, with just the moonlight highlighting the soft features of her face. He could watch her sleep forever and it wouldn’t be enough. To be able to see her let her guard down, to see the stress disappear from her shoulders. She trusted him enough to be able to sleep when she was on missions with him. How many times did he yearn to reach out to touch her face, to move a piece of that pink hair away from her face, to pull her closer to him when she shivered from the cold. Countless. Too many to count. And he didn’t think he could stop. 

Then there was that charming forehead of hers. The way it would wrinkle when she was upset. The way she lightly hit it when she couldn’t think of the answer to a problem she was solving. He could never understand why she covered it up when she was younger, he supposed he had Ino to thank for the ribbon that pulled away that light pink hair to show off those bright green eyes. 

And when she got the byakugou seal on her forehead, it was a badge of honor, a mark of pride, a symbol of all the hard work she put into herself over the years. That simple purple diamond on her forehead healed hundreds during the war, helped her destroy countless enemies with her superhuman strength, and showcased to the world who Haruno Sakura was. 

She was the only female member of Team Seven. The proud student of the Fifth Hokage, Tsuande, one of the greatest shinobis ever. The owner of the Slug Legacy. The Legendary Medical Ninja that could break the three rules of a Medical ninja and fight on the front lines. And she was beautiful. 

Her forehead was also his favorite place to kiss her. It perfectly aligned to his lips, when he kissed her forehead to say goodbye and hello. He didn’t have to slouch to kiss it, it was just there, waiting to be kissed and he absolutely loved it. He loved how no matter how many times he did it, it always felt right and perfect. He recalled how his finger lightly traced the edges of the mark, when he first saw it. He had seen it on Tsuande, he knew the sort of power it held, and yet when he saw it, all he wanted to do was kiss it with reverence. 

_It teases him._ He said with a soft smile once when she asked him why he always kissed her forehead when he got the chance.And she just looked at him with a raised brow before laughing.

And oh that had tobe one of his favorite expressions. Her entire face lighting up with happiness and joy. How her eyes closed into half moons as her lips parted and let out a that bright and cheerful sound. He loved her laugh. He loved her smile. He loved that he could make her happy. When she leaned over and began tearing up from laughing too hard, to the way it tickled his eardrums. He could never get tired of hearing her laughter, of seeing her smile, of looking at the beauty before him. 

He even thought she was pretty when she was angry. Yes, she was terrifying and when he was on the receiving end of that anger, he feared for his life. But he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t in awe and attracted to that same anger. A goddess whose fury could not be tamed by mere mortals, he was never a religious man but when she was angry, it made him want to get down to knees in reverence. 

Because Haruno Sakura was damn sexy when she was angry. How the veins on her temple would show, how her green eyes practically glowed as her lips tugged into a snarl. When he got to watch her be angry at someone else, it was one of the most attractive things he had ever seen. She was a beauty that should never underestimated for her skills and she showcased it best with her own actions. 

Even the way she moved was beautiful. She wasn’t just pure strength like Tsuande. She was fast, nimble on her feet, like she was dancing, almost mocking her opponent as she moved and gracefully made her next move. Every move was calculated, thought out, and there was something so sexy about a woman who knew how strong she really was. 

It brought a shiver down his spine at how quickly she could move and how fast her mind worked. How that pretty pink hair of hers would whip in the wind as she flew through the battlefield. How those stunning green eyes would narrow and watch, like a predator catching it’s prey. 

Everything Haruno Sakura did was beautiful. From the way she looked, to the way she moved throughout the battlefield, to the skillful way she took care of her clients, to the way she looked right now as she slept in his arms.

He should be sleeping, but instead he chose to look at her. She was still the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, both in his days awake and nights asleep. She will always be the most pretty flower. 

Her hair was now a little past her shoulders. It fanned out over her naked shoulders, the moonlight from the windows making her skin glow . She had been pulling all nighters trying to put together the new children’s hospital, and even with dark circles under her eyes, she was still so pretty. They were a mark of how much work she was putting in, how important this new hospital was for her. 

Her beautiful heart shining even when she must have been so tired. She was always working more than she should, he even reprimanded her a few times when he caught he sneaking out to get some more paperwork done. The little pout on her lips as she said she would only take an hour, how she grumbled under her breath when he shook her head and guided her back to their bed. He knew that she only let him win those arguments when she knew her body was screaming at her to rest. 

Smiling softly, he lightly grazed his finger against the bridge of her nose, chuckling low as she scrunched up her nose and swatted at his hand. “Tickles.” She muttered in her sleep as she moved so she could cuddle up against him more and placed her head against his chest. Naruto wondered if she could hear his heart beating against his chest, in sync with hers. He wondered if she found comfort in his heartbeat as he did with hers. Letting one hand wrap around her, he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.” He whispered softly and felt his own heavy eyelids close slowly. Maybe if he was lucky, he would see her in his dreams as well, even if the image his brain made was nothing compared to the real thing, he would take what he can. 

She could make the earth bloom under her fists and heal mortal wounds with her fingertips.

He knew that Haruno Sakura was the most powerful Kunochi not just in the Leaf, but also in all the world There was no doubt about that in his mind. There was nothing more amazing than watching Sakura work. And even if he watched her fight or heal a million times, he would never grow tired of it.

She was brilliant, smart, a genius in her own right and he never once his life doubted her mind. Even as students in the academy, her marks were always some of the highest, even beating out Sasuke and Ino’s. She was the one that was always seemed to know the right answer and was ahead of the curve, reading books that normal academy students normally wouldn’t read. Sakura was always using her brain and making sure the plan would bring the least amount of casualties even during the war. And even if her brain wasn’t the one doing the work, her hands were. 

He would never not be in awe of her skills on the battlefield. How quickly she can go from an offensive player to someone on the sidelines healing and working on the defense of the team. In any team, she was the most valuable, most important ninja there. Whether it be Team Seven, the village, or just a random team that was put together for a mission, her ability to work, her skills, they were invaluable. 

He was sure that he and the rest of the village knew that without her, most of them would be long dead and he was sure that they would not have been able to bring peace to the world without her. Without her and her diligence, her drive to be better and work harder, without her hands, they would have died. 

How easily she could make the hard earth shatter like fragile glass under her hands. It wasn’t even that she was strong that was impressive, there were plenty of strong ninjas. It was the fact that she did not waste a single moment, a single drop of chakra to make her next hit. He even remembered when she told him she was in a state of preserving her chakra for the last three years the entire time she was fighting alongside him. He could not even begin to comprehend the amount of work she must have put into fighting and healing, checking her own limited reserves constantly while saving little bits of it into a concentrated area. She worked hard to become the shinobi that deserved to be feared and the results were frightening. 

Naruto did not understand true power until he saw the way Sakura raised her fist and dropped it to the ground, destroy and cracking the earth with a smile as she found Kakashi Sensei under the ground. The confidence in her eyes, he felt his chest pound against his chest both out of fear and awe. He knew he could not fool around in front of her or say something that would dismiss her because she could easily break every bone in his body then heal him just to do it all over again. 

Her strength was not just physical but also when it came to dealing with the roughest conditions a shinobi could go through. To hold someone’s life in her hands, their next breath as she worked to save their life. The number of shinobis that owed their life to Sakura were countless and they just kept going up. She was not a prodigy in the medical field like Tsuande, instead she studied into the late night, worked until her hand shook, and persevered even when other gave up. 

Blood, sweat, and tears, she gave everything into sharpening and honing her skills. And there was something so lovely about the way she did not give up. She in so many ways embodied what a true shinobi should look like. Someone that did not just rely on their natural talents rather constantly worked to better themselves, constantly worked to be greater, and constantly was driven to do whatever it takes to protect their teammates. 

And with her talents and her determination, she became one of the youngest heads of any medical hospital, as well as the Leaf’s. Took charge in research and development of hospitals that specialized in the treatment of children that went through war because she saw the value in prioritizing the mental health of their future. She became a sought out medical professional throughout the world, constantly traveling to teach after the war so that other nations could have a stronger medical program like the one Tsuande dreamt of. 

He even remembered the first time he saw her in action. Taking out the poison from within Kankuro, a feat that not even older medical nin in Suna could do. How in awe Granny Chiyo was when she saw how quickly Sakura worked, her hair tied up, her eyes of a confidence, knowing she could help cure and heal a man on death’s door. How she drew the poison out with precise chakra control and how she gracefully moved and worked quickly. Then on top of that, she already understood the complex poison and created an antidote in a matter of hours. He remembered watching her and wondering how on earth he could ever catch up to her standards. How on earth could he ever stand next to her and know that he would be doing just as much as she did.

On top of her monstrous strength, on top of her angelic healing abilities, on top of storing chakra and perfectly being able to keep up despite her own injuries in battle, this wasn’t even her speciality. She was a sensory nin, a genjutsu specialist that could easily break free from most illusions. She who can heal herself with a rare healing technique that was only known to few, she who could make the earth shatter and break, she who can save lives from the brink of death, wasn’t naturally talented in the fields she excelled in either. How could he not be in love with someone so powerful and determined to succeed. How could not be in love with someone that did not run away when life became difficult rather took it head on with a smile. How could he not be in love with Haruno Sakura who flipped off Death more times than one and he was positive that even Death, himself was scared of going up against such a formidable woman. Whether it be taking her life and the life that she was saving, death was right to be afraid. 

He remembered after his reunion with Kakashi Sensei and fighting alongside Sakura for the first time in years, how good it felt to know she was on his side. How Jiraya looked at Sakura with awe as he watched her fight and heal, easily switching from fighter to healer in a blink of an eye. He warned Naruto that Sakura was a woman that was never to be underestimated that she could easily make his heart stop and not in the way that she usually did. He also told him to never let that sort of person go. Not as a teammate nor as a woman. There were few flowers that bloomed like she did, and he should not miss his chance when he got it or else he’d live a life of regret. 

Even now as he was sprawled on the training grounds, heaving and gasping for breath as she looked down at him with asmirk and a raised fist. He swore up and down that she never looked sexier than she did right now as she told him to surrender. It was a no chakra, no pulled punches sort of spar. And he could safely say that he did not mind being pinned down by the gorgeous woman before him. 

How the sweat glistened against her skin as she breathed heavilyto catch her next breath. How her eyes sparkled with the joy of beating him and pinning him down. How she looked absolutely divine as her hair fell from the ponytail she had it up in and fell and curtained her face. She looked absolutely beautiful and Naruto could feel his heart pound from both the spar and the sight before him. With a blade up against his neck, a gentle warning not to move as her legs pinned her down, he could feel a different kind of heat traveling south. Letting out a slow hiss through his teeth, his own smile widening before he let out a groan and tilted his head up. “You win.” He said with a laugh, feeling the kunai release and be thrown across the field to find it's place in the trunk of a tree. He was pretty sure it was now stuck there forever. 

“Damn right I do.” She said with confidence before she sat up and pulled at her sweaty hair back into a bun, and he couldn’t help but watch at how quickly she turned the switch. Soon her hands were glowing that cool green, the kind that always felt gentle like running water and began working on his own injuries before hers. Working at the bruises, the cuts, the fractures that he had throughout his body.

She always was looking out for him. Always making sure he was okay, even when she was the cause for some of the bruises, she always took care of him in a special way. “Does it hurt anywhere else?” 

“Mmnn…here.” he said before quickly sitting up and kissing her soft pink lips. Smiling as he pulled away and laughed when she shoved him back down, a light pink blush coating her cheeks. He was glad he got to see this part of her too, the shy part, the girlish part. It told him that she trusted to put her guard down around him. “It’s true…my lips felt like they were burning now they feel cool!” His laughter was responded with a scoff before she flicked his forehead. “Ow! Sakura-Chan!” 

He watched as her work, her hands quick to find all his injuries, even the ones he could not feel. He watched as her own injures began healing. He could watch her work, study, fight all day and it still would make his heart pound quickly. “You know I love you, right?” Naruto asked as he stared at her before letting his fingers touch his own lips. 

“Are you saying you went easy on me?” 

“If I went easy on you, I would be dead, Sakura-chan.” His expression deadpanned, a bit hurt that she thought he wasn’t fighting to the best of his ability. “Wait…are you saying that it was easy to beat me?!” 

Now it was her turn to laugh, before she looked down and kissed his lips. The cool sensation that he felt when she kissed him, how it brought a smile to his lips to feel hers against his. He loved this the most after their weekly spar dates, the aftercare, the fact that she never failed to heal him and to give him a kiss for being a good partner. “Guess you’ll have to prove yourself next week.” She whispered against his lips, pulling away and rolling off him, she looked down at him as she stretched her body. “Ramen for dinner? I’m starving.” 

“I would love that.”

She saved his life more than once and he would be dead without her. 

He owed her his life. That was a given. She had protected him, healed him, kept him alive. He could say without a shadow of a doubt, that he would not be here, taking the mantel of Hokage if it wasn’t for her. If it wasn’t for her, he was sure that so many would have died including himself. If it wasn’t for her handpumping his heart, her lips giving him air to breathe, her stubborn determination to keep him alive, that the world would have crumbled and everyone would be under the infinite tsukuyomi. 

Without her by his side, he was pretty sure that they were all doomed. She did not ask for credit, she not ask to be called a hero, instead did the work that needed to be done. He knew that history would not remember her like they did with him or Sasuke. And yet she still did what she had to do. She kept healing despite her own reserves depleting. She kept fighting even though she must have been in immense pain. 

He had profound respect for her. Her abilities, her skills, but most importantly her determination to never let her friends die in her hands. She knew every scar on his body, she knew every wound that had been inflicted on him. The one in particular that she always touched when she saw it was the one she made. A slit where she slid her hand in to pump his heart. 

When his half of the nine tails was extracted from him, when his heart stopped beating, when his blood stopped flowing, when there was no pulse, she didn’t give up on him. She still didn’t give up. Even with her own chakra depletion, she kept fighting to keep him alive. She slid her hand into his chest and pumped his heart with hands that could destroy mountains. Gently squeezing to keep his blood flowing throughout his body, swearing that as long as she was alive, she would not allow him to die. She would not allow him to leave her. 

Every beat of his heart was by her will, her strength, her love for him. She breathed air into his body, she swore that he would live to see his dream come true. She would make sure he stayed alive and healthy enough to be realize his dream of becoming the Hokage. 

Countless injuries, numerous encounters with death, and she was there to bring him back to the world of the living. Taking his hand and yanking him away from death’s grasp. She, who would always greet him, her green eyes full of tears as she whispered a prayer and thankfulness that he came back to her. 

She admitted to him once, with her head resting on her arms as they leaned over the railing, how she felt in that moment. It was their first real date after the war. It was the first time they could experience peace and actually enjoy it. She turned her head to look at him, a small smile on her lips as she looked at the blonde. “Can I tell you a secret?” 

“Of course, Sakura.” He said with a bright smile before he mimicked her, resting his one arm on the railing and resting his head on top. Turning his head so he can look into those beautiful emerald eyes. “You can tell me anything.” 

“When I couldn’t hear your heartbeat…I think mine stopped. I never once felt hopeless…until I thought of a future without you.” her voice was soft as the sadness in her eyes revealed itself, tears glistening in the corner of her eyes before she quietly rubbed her head against the arm she rested her head on. Hiding her face into her arm, her shoulder shook as she tried to stop herself from crying. “I have to remind myself that you’re here sometimes…Sometimes when I see you sleeping over the books you should be studying, I have to check…because…the thought of…I never want to feel that again…I never want to live in a world…where you aren’t…where you are dead. It’s…awful. It’s painful…I don’t think I can…”

“But I’m alive.” He said softly as he raised his head and reached out with his hand to softly pat her head. Her silky pink hair falling through his fingertips. “I’m alive because of you…You kept me alive. You..”Slow footsteps before wrapped his arm around her shoulder and moved her so he can hug her tightly. “You saved my life…you gave me back my life…You….are the reason I’m here.” He whispered softly on the top of her head before he kissed the top of it. “I will never be able to repay that debt…My heart…was literally in your hands…You were the very air I breathed.. I can promise you that I’ll love you with every beat of this heart of mine and with every breath I take…Because all those things...they belong to you and only you. ” 

She should never be sad, he hated watching her heart break. 

He had a high pain tolerance. He always did. That’s why despite the words that were flung at him, the backs turned, the punches thrown, he kept getting up and walking towards his dream. He could take it all, a venomous word, a scorned look, another punch. What he couldn’t take was when he saw Sakura with her heart broken. He couldn’t stand the look in her eyes, as if she was not worth the world and more. He couldn’t bare to think of her crying any more tears for the bastard that did not know how lucky he was. He couldn’t handle her in pain. That was the one thing he couldn’t endure.

If he could, he would take it all upon himself. He didn’t mind being in pain but if anyone hurt her, that was something he could not handle. He would not tolerate anyone that made her cry and made her that sad. Not even Sasuke. He was willing to break his friend’s legs and drag him back, if that made her happy. 

He would even promise, an everlasting promise that he would bring their teammate back. That he would wipe those tears away from her eyes and put together her heart together again piece by piece, even if it broke his. Maybe this was love, he thought to himself. Maybe love was just willing to die for someone a little bit so they could be happy. 

It didn’t matter if he was in pain. It didn’t matter if he had to watch her be happy with someone who was so undeserving of someone like her. No one could possibly deserve Haruno Sakura…but if they made her happy. If they were able to make her smile again, who was he to deny that. Who was he to say that she shouldn’t have that. Who was he to stand in the way.

No, instead he would be the one to step in the line of fire so she can be happy. He would be willing to let his heart break as long as hers was whole. As long as he never had to see a day when she was sad, that would be enough for him. 

When she asked him to bring back Sasuke, how it was a once in a lifetime request. How she cried so hard as she asked him, begged him to bring him back to her. He knew that she had the full possession of his heart, even if she broke and shattered it with such simple words. He knew that he would do anything so he did not have to see those painful tears again. He would bitterly bite down the pain, believing that she would always care for Sasuke more than she cared for him. 

He wondered if she knew that his heart was breaking just as hers was. But his wasn’t just for their teammate, not just for the friend that he thought could understand that loneliness best. No, his was breaking because he had to admit that no matter what he did, he would not be enough for her. And that was okay. It was okay for him to feel this sort of pain, to take every punch, to live to fulfill that promise because it was her. Because he could bare all of that misery as long as she never cried like that again. As long as she was happy, he could live with this pain. 

She didn’t have to choose him…he would choose her. Every single time, when given the choice, he would always choose her. He would always choose her happiness over his. He would always make sure to see her smile again. He would be the one to protect her. 

“Sakura-chan…” Naruto didn’t know what to expect when he saw the pink haired ninja at the gates. Sasuke had just left, and he had said his goodbye to their teammate again, this time with the knowledge that he would come home on his own. That he knew that he had place here, that he was not alone as long Team Seven was around. They did not have to chase him around the world, begging for him to come back. This time it was different. This time, Sakura would get her happy ending with the boy she loved since she was a kid. And he could watch his two friends be happy. When he finally got close enough, he saw tears falling down her cheeks and his walk quickly became a run. “What did that bastard do? Why are you crying?!” 

“It’s nothing, Naruto.” She said with sniffle as she wiped her eyes again. His brows furrowed as he felt his heart drop. How could Sasuke leave her heartbroken again. After everything, did he not realize how undeserving he was of her love? How lucky he was that she chose him. Putting a hand on her cheek, he wiped the tear and frowned. 

“I hate liars, Sakura.” He said seriously as he tilted her head up to look at him and worriedly wondered what had happened in the few moments that Sasuke had to say goodbye. Did he have some terrible talent in hurting those that loved him most? For a genius, Sasuke was the biggest idiot Naruto had ever met. “What happened? Was it Sasuke? It had to have been Sasuke…only he can make you cry like this.” 

“No…It’s not that…I’m just grieving.” 

“Grieving? For..” Angrily looking over his shoulder, he was sure he can catch up to their teammate and drag him back to pay for his sins of making Sakura cry again. “I’ll be back. That…How dare he..” Turning around, ready to run after him, he only stoped when he felt both her hands grip his right arm. His head snapping to look at her, he saw the tears glistening as she looked up at him. Her eyes indicating that she will break his arm if he did not listen to her.

“I…I’m grieving my first love.” She whispered a bit frustrated before laughing to herself and wiping her eyes again. Looking up at the sky and exhaling deeply. “It’s…sad..because for so long…I think…I’m just grieving a chapter in my life that has finally come to an end. It’s not a bad thing…it’s not a tragic thing…It’s just…time…?” A sad smile appearing on her lips as she closed her eyes slowly. “I think I knew for a long time…that with Sasuke-kun…I’d always have to wait. I’d always have be second. I’d always…I feel stupid…as if following him would make a difference…as if he would ever let me…by his side…when in reality there was no place for me there…And I never belonged there…I always belonged somewhere else even if I didn’t realize it myself….”

“But why are you so sad…he shouldn’t…he doesn’t deserve your tears, Sakura-chan. He doesn’t deserve….” 

“You know that Sai once told me..I put a curse mark on you.” Her voice stopped him as she looked at him and he couldn’t tell what he was looking at when he saw her eyes that looked like they were in so much pain as he stared into them. He had only seen her in this much pain when she first made that request all those years ago. “When I asked you to bring Sasuke back…no matter what….that from that moment on…I put a curse on you.” 

“Sakura…you know that’s not true.” 

“It was…because…I didn’t know any better. Because I was blind. Because…I thought I could finally be happy if the boy that I liked..the boy that always ignored me..the boy that left…if he chose me..if he came back…even if he was dragged back…that I could be happy if I was just by his side.. that I could make him happy because I was that amazing…”

“You are that amazing, Sakura-chan!”

“No…Naruto…You are…” She said quietly before taking a step toward him, her hands still clapped over his as she looked up at him. “Even when you weren't around…you protected me…When I felt lonely…you were there in my mind telling me to keep going. You were always there…You were always waiting…always watching…and I think it’s my turn..” 

“Your turn?” He felt his breath catch in the back of his throat. He watched the way she angled her head and looked at him, the pain in her eyes vanishing slowly and a new warmth finding it’s way to make his heart clench and his stomach fill with butterflies just like when he was a kid and he first met her. 

“It’s my turn to watch you. It’s my turn to wait for you. It’s my turn to piece together the heart that I must have broken asking you…for placing that curse on you all those years ago. It’s my turn to show you the same love that you showed me all these years. It’s my turn…to love you because I do…I really do love you, Naruto. I don’t think I can ever repay you…or even come close to what you’ve done for me…but I know that my way of breaking that bond I placed on you…Of healing that beautiful heart of yours is to love it with all of mine.” 

“You…You love me?” His ears felt hot as he watched her cheeks turn slightly pink. “You…want to love me?” 

“Yes…I want to….I want to be by your side like you were by mine. I want to hold this hand and never let go..I want to love the man that I grew to love..My best friend…I want to love you, Naruto because I know that…I know that I already do.” Getting on the top of her toes, she put one hand on his cheek, and kissed his lips. It was soft, warm and inviting. It was everything he dreamt of and more. It made his stomach do flips. It felt like coming home. 

The shattered pieces of his own heart, all the pain he felt over the years, all of the preparations he did to think of a future where he would have to watch from the sideline as someone else had her love vanishing. He swore he would never let her heartbreak again. He would never take for granted of this love that blossomed in front of him. He could never think of a day where he did not love her and not show that to her. Two broken hearts that were being put together with pieces of each other’s mixed in, filling up the holes that they had longed to be filled. To feel this whole, to feel this loved, how could he ever want to lose it. To break her heart would mean to break his own…and he never wanted to feel that way again. He wanted to show her how much she was loved. He wanted to show her how much he loved her. He wanted to love her and he finally had a chance.

"Thank you for waiting for me...Thank you for loving me...Now....can you give me a chance to do the same for you?" 

"Yes..."He breathed softly before pulling her hands in to kiss her for the first time, and how sweet it tasted. How wonderful it felt to be loved by her. "I loved you, I love you...I'll always love you..." 

She loved him back. 

And God did it feel good to know that she loved him back. When she took his hands and pulled him in for a kiss in the morning. When she smiled as he pressed his forehead against hers. How after all these years, he still was completely and fully in love with her. And she loved him back. She loved him back in the ways that he did not expect to be loved. 

She started taking cooking classes after the first month of dating. She told him with a shy smile as he caught her making onigiri that she wanted to be able to pack him a lunch so that he wouldn’t just have take out. That she didn’t want him to suffer through her bad cooking like he did with her disgusting food pills. How she wanted to do something small like this and even kept it a secret. She wanted to surprise him with making his favorite foods and even expanding his taste to other dishes. 

He told her that he should also take up these lessons because when she was busy at the hospital, he wanted to make sure that she had proper food as well. He said that they were a team and that meant they should do it together. Thursday nights cooking classes became one of his favorite new hobbies he took up with the woman he was falling more and more in love with. 

He loved the fact that she would meet up with him for lunch when she wasn’t too caught up with work. How she made a simple lunch for them both and how they could easily share their days with one another. How she would push the last rice ball towards him, saying he needed to keep up his energy better. How she would always bring fresh tea for him to drink throughout the day so that he wouldn’t grow too tired. How she quietly healed him, so that any pain he felt from being at a desk all day did not last too long.

Sakura always did show her love through her actions.

From the way her eyes would soften when he called out to her and took her hand to pick her up from work. How she leaned into his arm as they walked the village, enjoying the quiet moments they shared together. He loved the way she laced her fingers with his and how perfectly her hand fit in his. How she gently smiled at him when he lifted their intertwined hands and kissed her knuckles. He loved every single moment and could not have enough. He could never grow tired of their routine that felt like a new adventure every time. How his heart fluttered and jumped still even after years of being together. 

From the hot kisses when she pulled him close, her leg wrapping around his waist. It was pure desire. It knocked the breath out of him as she kissed him like he was the very air she breathed. To the soft sleepy kisses when they were just about to wake up in the morning or fall asleep late in the night. To the way she curled up against him when she slept, her legs locking with his, twisting and holding him as she slept in his arms. Even the quick kisses that she would give him on the cheek when she checked the time and quickly cleaned up their lunch date. Telling him not to wait up too long because she had a few surgeries and he should get some proper sleep. How she cared about how he was eating, how he was sleeping, how he was doing even after living with him, marrying him, starting a family with him. As if it was the most natural thing to be always be concerned and worried over him. 

How calm he felt, not just speeding up when he saw her, but instead, becoming a secure feeling, slowing down as he felt comforted just by having her by his side. The sound of her breath, the way it synced up with his, the soft way she called out his name, he never understood what home in a person could look like…but he knew that Sakura was home. 

When she said I love you, he could feel his heart sing as if it was the first time. When she smiled that gummy smile of hers, her eyes turning into half moons as she looked up at him, promising her heart to him as he did with his. How every day seemed brighter, more colorful, full of pink and green. Even when she was frustrated or mad at him, she still loved him. 

When she caught him with an injury, trying to play it off, saying that it’ll go away soon, she glared at him. She frowned and told him in the most doctor tone to take off his shirt so she can properly examine him. When her cool hands touched him, healing him slowly, he felt his his chest tighten. “Did you….Are you mad?” He asked quietly. It had been a small incident on the mission he was on. A few bandits that happened to get their hands on a weapon they should not have touched. 

“I am.” She said with a huff, brows furrowed as her frown deepened. “I hate it when you’re in pain…I hate it when you get hurt.” 

“I’m sorry, Sakura…” 

“Don’t say sorry. Just…Just don’t hide it from me.” She whispered quietly before she sealed up the wound and looked him with worry in her eyes. “When you hide things from me…I can’t help you…when you hide things from me…it makes me…” 

He gently bumped his forehead with hers and gave her a weak smile. “I won’t hide from you…And even if I did…you’d always find me, right?” 

“Always…” She whispered back before placing a quick peck on his nose. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” He said with a full feeling in his chest. Just like the first time, just like every time, he could never grow tired of hearing her say those precious words to him. He knew that he would always be falling more and more in love with Sakura. He knew that her beauty, her mind, her hands, her heart, her soul, all of it were just part of the reason why he loved her. 

He loved her and would always love her simply because she was Haruno Sakura and he was Uzumaki Naruto, and they were always meant to be in love with each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> The otp of all otps for me. NaruSaku should have been canon and I can't believe that I don't get to have their precious love in canon but it's oaky because honestly ...the people I've seen create for the NaruSaku fandom are some of the most creative and beautiful creators I've ever seen. Was this entire fic? just me?? talking about my love for Sakura and how much she deserves to be loved and acknowledged...Possibly....What about it? 
> 
> I am so excited to write more of these two because...I do absolutely love them..but I do...say that about all my ships...LOLOL 
> 
> Follow/Talk to me on Twitter: @Bledstars


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